The present invention relates to a modular spiral staircase contained within a surrounding enclosure generally for indoor playground equipment.
Indoor playground equipment typically provides a series of interconnected tubes and play structures to enable children to crawl and/or move through such tubes and structures for an exciting play experience. For physically challenged children, entry into and exit from such equipment is not so easily accomplished. This is due to the fact that the entry and exit openings of such tubes and structures has been limited to the size of such openings. With the passage of the American Disabilities Act, there has been interest in expanding various public structures, including playground equipment, for the use of physically challenged children, as well.
According to the present invention, entry into and exit from indoor playground equipment has been solved by the use of spiral steps in a surrounding enclosure with sufficiently large openings in the surrounding enclosure to permit access to and egress from indoor playground equipment by the physically challenged child.
Spiral staircases are well-known in the art. Typically, such spiral staircases include individual steps that extend laterally and radially from a central supporting post. Adjacent individual steps are attached through the associated central supporting post of such steps, with individual steps positioned to extend at any desired angular relationship until the required height of ascent/descent is achieved. Some examples of prior art of spiral staircases are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,667,176; 4,660,355 and 5,088,248.
However, spiral staircases in conjunction with surrounding enclosures have not been used in the prior art to facilitate entry into and exit from indoor playground equipment by the physically challenged child.